OUR OPINION: Commuter rail lines deserve another chance

State legislators who plan to submit a budget request to fund a weekend service pilot program for two South Shore commuter rail lines are on the right track.

The impetus driving this engine is Duxbury resident Richard Prone. A retired train engineer, Prone has led the charge to restore the weekend rail service that was discontinued on the Old Colony Greenbush and the Plymouth/Kingston lines in July 2012. The MBTA cites poor ridership, but Prone believes that the MBTA hasn’t given the rails a fair shake and he has a point.

Prone believes ridership fell off along the South Shore when defective concrete ties interrupted weekend service at irregular intervals so crews could work on them. One weekend it was in service, the next three, maybe not. If passengers can’t trust the train to get them to their destinations and back, they won’t use it. When it comes to transportation, reliability is everything.

Almost. Cost is a major consideration, too.

For a single passenger traveling from Greenbush in Scituate to South Station, it’s $8.75 each way. That’s assuming he doesn’t board at South Station and purchase a ticket on the train for a surcharge of $3. If that passenger parks in one of the 1,000 parking spaces in Scituate, it’s another $4. So if a passenger plans ahead, takes the commuter rail into Boston and leaves his car at Greenbush, it costs him $21.50. Add a spouse, a couple of teens and it’s suddenly pretty expensive for a family to take the train into Boston for a weekend picnic on the Common.

Prone suggests that with the restoration of weekend service, the MBTA make parking free those days. It makes sense. At this point, those 1,000 spaces are sitting empty, not earning anyone a dime.

Perhaps the best argument for restoring service is that it would encourage those to use the commuter rails during the week, too. Not everyone has a 9-5, Monday through Friday job. Many work on the weekends and need safe, reliable transportation to get them to their jobs in the city. Once commuters fall into the routine of getting into their cars Saturday and Sunday, they’ll continue to do so Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Considering the cost to taxpayers to build these now limited lines was more than a billion dollars, we can’t see how this limited service makes good economic sense. We were also promised fewer cars on overloaded highways too, and in a time when the Patrick administration is concerned with global warming, that must be a consideration.

As part of this feasibility study, we would ask legislators to consider one more component. We and others have long said that extending schedule times so that suburban residents could stay in Boston past 10 p.m., when the last train leaves, would make commuter rail service not just viable, but invaluable to consumers and businesses. Imagine jumping on a train to catch a 7 p.m. Red Sox game and not worrying if it goes into extra innings? Right now, no suburbanite would dare risk it.

Page 2 of 2 - It’s Prone’s persistence in touring South Shore communities to speak on behalf of service that’s rallied communities. As the MBTA’s most vocal critic – and supporter – of commuter rail service, we commend Prone his advocacy.

We also commend state Rep. Jim Cantwell and other South Shore legislators for requesting the study. We owe it to riders to make the Old Colony Greenbush and the Plymouth/Kingston lines economically feasible and better able to serve the greater good.

After all, promises were made 20 years ago when advocates of the commuter rail lines lobbied suburban communities to sacrifice land and tax dollars to build them. We can’t afford to let this be yet another Massachusetts boondoggle that’s gone off the rails.